Less Travel But More to Remember This Memorial Day in Pandemic Year

They’ve been doing it every year for at least a couple of decades.

The triple A, the Auto Club, puts out its annual Memorial Day travel forecast with the number of Americans expected to travel over the three day holiday weekend.

But this Memorial Day weekend, which is seen as the unofficial start of the summer travel season, the triple A is not doing a travel forecast…because not a lot of people are travelling anywhere this year.

The coronavirus pandemic has taken care of that.Even with California and the other states having started to open up restaurants and more stores, this Memorial Day weekend is likely to set a record for the least amount of travel.

Going out to eat at restaurants is just beginning, hotels still can’t fully open, beaches are open but not for gathering, parks are open but only allow certain activates.. and all the usual theme parks and attractions that annually get a big jumpstart on the summer tourist season, like the San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld, remain shut down.

Like everything during this unprecedented pandemic, the first of the traditional summer holiday weekends is also the first of its kind. This Memorial Day weekend will be remembered more for physical distancing and face masks than for picnics and parks.

But this weekend still needs to be what it is always about; a time to remember and honor those who have fought wars against our enemies and made the ultimate sacrifice.

And this we year, as we display the American flag this weekend, we need to remember and honor the courageous health care and first responder heroes who are on the front lines in the war of 2020 …against the invisible enemy called COVID-19,